Time To Thank Andrew Cuomo For His "Monumental Gaffe" That The Common Core Tests Are "Meaningless"

I've been hitting on Governor Cuomo's remark to reporters late last week that students should take Common Core state tests because the scores don't count for them for a couple of days now (see here, here and here.).

The governor said the scores are "meaningless" for students, so they should take the tests because they are just "practice".

Given that he was adamant the scores should be used to fire teachers and close schools, I thought that "meaningless" statement was quite an admission by the governor and many readers of Perdido Street School blog thought the same, but I haven't seen much in the news media about the statement.

Until today, when Fred LeBrun wrote about it today in the Times-Union:

The New York opt-out movement will only grow next year, especially in light of Cuomo's monumental gaffe on Friday.

"The grades are meaningless to the students," Cuomo emphasized to a group of reporters, obviously reacting to the success of the opt-outers. Meaningless for the next five years, he said. Meaningless. So, remind us why they're taking these tests, if they aren't being used to steer and model learning and personal improvement?

"They can opt out if they want to, but on the other hand if the child takes the test, it's practice and the score doesn't count."

Ah, practice. So, all the anxiety and tears by young learners, parental anguish, all for nothing but practice. I'm sure parents especially will be pleased to hear they've been played for suckers and their children used as pawns.

Because those tests do count, just not for the kids. Those standardized tests which now the kids know they can fail with impunity, which they will give the effort the lack of accountability deserves, will be used to rank, grade and fire teachers.

What the governor has told us here with the back of his hand is that his fiercely imposed teacher evaluation plan is not just deeply flawed and outrageously unfair, it's — his word — meaningless.

LeBrun nails it as usual - Cuomo, the Regents and the state educrats are playing parents for suckers and using children as pawns in order to impose their "accountability" system onto schools and teachers that is, in the end, "meaningless."

This statement by Governor Cuomo that the tests are "meaningless" for students will be used again and again and again in the battle against Endless Testing and the state's education reform agenda.

It is, as LeBrun wrote, a "monumental gaffe" that puts Cuomo's whole education reform agenda into perspective.

That reform agenda is "meaningless" in any productive sense and is only meant to be used as a bludgeon to close schools, fire teachers and instill fear and anxiety in a system already rife with both.

200,000+ parents understood that and sent a message to the state politicians and educrats that they will no longer enable that system to flourish by providing its precious "data" by opting their children out of the state tests.

When next year's tests come, we will use Cuomo's "the grades are meaningless" statement over and over and over in the lead up to the state testing period to add to this year's opt-out numbers and put even more of a shiv into the system.

If you're an opponent of the Endless Testing regime, the Common Core, teacher evaluations tied to test scores and other tenets of the corporate education reform agenda, you have to give Andrew Cuomo credit where credit is due.

He helped out greatly with the opt-out movement this year by imposing his draconian education reforms in the budget and essentially forcing the legislature to either take them or vote down the budget.

Coming just a few weeks before the state testing period, that threw a lot of fuel onto the fire against the Endless Testing regime.

And now he's done an even bigger favor to the movement by admitting the tests are "meaningless" to students.

Thanks, Governor Cuomo.

That's an admission that is going to keep on giving and giving.